If you are exercising too much and are on a severely restricted diet, you could be putting yourself at a risk for serious health problems.

Here’s how going to the extremes can hurt your health:

Brittle nails, thinning hair, softened teeth and bones

Insufficient intake of nutrients, particularly iron and calcium, can cause this. Calcium deficiency can also lead to osteoporosis after the age of 35.

Heart and Kidney problems

High protein diets create this problem. Protein contains high levels of saturated fats, which is one if the problems of heart diseases. Kidneys are responsible for processing protein; eat too much of it and they are overworked.

Amenorrhea

Excessive exercise and severe dieting cause irregular or halted periods. There is also a risk of infertility along with other health complications in the long run.

Constipation

If you cut out carbohydrates, and especially fruits and vegetables from your diet, you end up with very little fiber intake. Constipation is typically the result of the diet’s restriction on fiber-rich foods.

Change in sleeping pattern

Excessive physical activity and strict dieting depletes the body of its energy

It becomes difficult for the body to maintain high levels of physical intensity day after day. This results in a change of sleeping pattern:

You have difficulty in falling asleep.

Your sleep tends to be disturbed and you wake up frequently at night.

In the mornings when you wake up, you are still exhausted.

Change in eating pattern

The body can react in many ways when it is under stress. There can be either a loss in appetite, increase in appetite or constant craving for food. This causes vitamin and mineral deficiency, resulting in several health problems.

If an exercise program does not allow the body to rest and recuperate between exercise sessions, the result is an injury or physical or emotional “burn-out”. The frequency, intensity and duration of an exercise program should progress according to individual needs.

Correct diet is the basis for a healthy body. Pay attention to what you eat and when you eat. To become thin at any cost should not be your only goal. This is a big mistake! A sensible weight loss programme will give you better and more permanent results. You will begin to feel and look great, be more energetic and be able to cope with the stress and strain of life more easily.